Some notes on the Launching Ceremony  From Mike White:

When the Kam was launched, the state of Hawaii decided to do fund a luau with hula dancers etc (of course this was in the middle of winter, so it was a bit cold). As I recall, everything was done fairly nicely, except they started the damn fire for the pig with kerosene - the whole damn dinner tasted like it had been laced with kerosene before serving. 

You've got some lovely pictures of the Kam when it was launched, but you don't get the entire flavor until you realize that they had both the Blue and Gold crews up topside for the launch, and then we were floating out in the middle of the channel while they tried to get tugs alongside to take us in and get tied up. I'm sure we weren't out there as long as it felt like - but it was sure awfully cold out in the channel. For some reason, which now escapes me, we weren't supposed to go below so the wind was cutting like a knife - we (or least I did) finally went below at some point.

Anyone remember the Horse and Cow in Vallejo - now gone...

Mike White

Mike also sent this one:

Gene White Jr said you wanted to know how the boat got chromed. Basically what happened is while we were in the yard at Mare Island before commissioning, Tom Miller (MT gold crew) started trading coffee etc. for chroming, and we wound up (as I am sure you saw) with chrome just about everywhere. We did the same thing in MCC. I don't recall if Tom got the formica for us, or we got it ourselves, but we put formica on just about everything that wasn't chromed. I do remember coming back to the boat after we were launched with an entire pickup truck full of formica, and being a little concerned about someone stopping us (we must have had a few hundred sheets - well maybe a couple of hundred anyway.) The Captain was certainly aware of what was going on, as I seem to recall he had arraigned for us to get the truck. Tom also arraigned the deal where all the plank owners got the brass plaques and models of the boat. I think all of that was done in the model shop at Mare Island. 

Mike White FTB1(SS)

Gold crew